There are a number of construction materials which are purchased in relatively large rigid sheets, including plywood, plasterboard, and paneling. These sheets are usually 4'.times.8' in dimension. When these materials are first delivered to a construction site, it is common for a stack of them to be leaned against a wall until the carpenters are ready to use them. A resulting disadvantage, however, is that if an electrician needs to run wires to an outlet located in the wall against which the sheets of material have been leaned, the sheets of material must all be moved, which is annoying, inconvenient, and an expenditure of labor which could best be applied elsewhere. The same occurs where a plumber or other professional needs access to the wall against which the sheets of material are leaned.
Accordingly, it has become common in the construction industry to build a device which is sometimes referred to as an "A-frame". This device has a single long two-by-four which serves as a base member, which lays on the floor, and which may even be nailed to the floor. Two additional two-by-fours which serve as legs are arranged in an inverted "V" and are nailed to each other at their upper ends and to the base member at their lower ends, the base member and legs together defining a support assembly. Sometimes an identical support assembly is built and then the two support assemblies are connected to each other by one or more two-by-fours which extend between them and are nailed to each. This device can be placed in the middle of a room of the building under construction, and then a number of sheets of material can be placed on the base member and can lean against the legs. Since these sheets of material are not leaning against any of the walls of the building, the walls are all freely accessible and the plumbing and electrical work in them can be completed without any need to move all of the sheets of material one or more times.
An important problem with this conventional support device or "A-frame" is that it is not collapsible, and thus is not easy to move to another construction site. Consequently, it is often discarded at the time construction is completed, or is disassembled, transported to a new site, and then nailed back together. In either case, materials and/or labor are essentially wasted.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheeting support which is collapsible, in order to facilitate portability.
A further object is to provide such a sheeting support which will provide stable and dependable support for sheets of material despite its collapsibility.
A further object is to provide such a sheeting support which can be collapsed and erected rapidly and by only one person.
A further object is to provide such a sheeting support which is relatively simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture, and which has a relatively low weight.